Just Peachy
by ARoseTea
Summary: Hinamori 'Aizen's stab fetish' Momo; the absolute last person I would ever want to be. So WHY did things turn out like this?


**1951 **\- 50 years ago

Soul Society

Two men walked through the streets of Seireitei, weakly illuminated by the crescent moon that hung overhead. One glowed softly in the cool light, the white of his haori reflecting stray moonbeams, while the other seemed to absorb the last of the lingering warmth from the air around him, clothed in pitch black.

It suited their personas scarily well.

"Ya sure this'll work?"

…Well, on the surface, at least.

None of the few naïve officers meandering to and fro through the streets around them, waving brightly and calling cheerful tidings to the gently smiling Captain, could possibly know of the danger lying hidden within the depths of those mild brown eyes.

Just as the glasses concealed innate predatory sharpness from cautious observation, this ruse drew a layer of obscurity between the two different personas that encapsulated the man known as Aizen Sōsuke.

"Of course, everything will undoubtedly go according to plan; I made my orders well and clear, after all. We've already received the distress signal from young Hisagi Shūhei- all we need now is to go and 'rescue' those children from this… _unfortunate_ incident. Accidents happen, as we all know."

Gin grinned sharply from his place behind and slightly off to his superior's left, slanting a narrow blue gaze to bore into the back before him.

'_And ta know he can stage that whole thing and then treat it like a minor inconvenience… What a monster.'_

"And what about Refundir? That's a bit of a calculated risk, don't 'cha think?"

His steps faltered momentarily when a concentrated wave of reiatsu and Killing Intent washed over him, before immediately vanishing from existence as though it had never been.

Snapping his eyes up to Aizen, he met a hard look of warning that had his smile waver in uncertainty.

Maybe mentioning that part aloud in Seireitei wasn't such a smart idea.

"There is no risk," he said at last, turning those piercing eyes from his Lieutenant.

"The chances of one of the first year students being _able_ to attack in the first place under that kind of terror is almost nil; let alone actually being able to reach the opponent with that pitiful level of strength. Even so, let us hope that Hisagi-kun doesn't get himself killed before he thinks to use his Kidou abilities. I'm afraid that is one of his shortcomings, but the return will be great in the end if everything goes smoothly."

It went unsaid that for Aizen, things _always_ went smoothly.

Gin, on the other hand, hoped that just for once the other man's devil-like luck would ease up. It wouldn't really affect things either way, as Hisagi-kun was just another pawn on the board.

But it would be no end of amusing for him, if somehow his Captain had underestimated the kids and ended up catching a guppy instead of the big fish.

He hummed jauntily under his breath as the silhouette of the official Senkaimon loomed over them then, throwing both men in complete shadow.

"Shall we go then, Gin?"

White teeth flashed in the darkness, and for a mere instant, it appeared less of a good-natured smile, and more of a coldly superior leer.

Silver hair lifted in the stir of wind that gusted briefly, and the ever-present grin widened morbidly further.

"Lead the way, Aizen-taichō."

* * *

Living World

Screaming and shouts of panic filled the night air, echoing through the deserted industrial estate on the outskirts of a sprawling settlement, as the latest batch of freshmen from a certain school scattered among the buildings.

Should anyone happen to pass by, however, their cries would fall on deaf ears, as these students were not humans, but souls.

Amidst the rush, one girl faltered in her steps, glancing over her shoulder in the direction of the superior they were abandoning. Of course, he didn't see it like that -Hisagi-san had _ordered_ them to run away- but it didn't change the fact that he would probably die without backup.

Why was this happening to them? Hinamori Momo just couldn't comprehend how the peaceful field training exercise in using Konsō, could turn into such a nightmare so quickly without any warning whatsoever.

Kira Izuru and Abarai Renji had made for interesting, if not rather mismatched, group members; the latter a thuggish teen evidently from the higher districts of Rukongai, while the former the highest achiever in the year and appearing to be from a well-bred family. She was a midpoint between the two, without family of her own like Abarai, but also from District 1, like Kira.

They'd only been attending the Shin'ō Academy for a little over two months now, all thirty of the class; nowhere near long enough to learn any significant fighting skills. Their coursework had so far been tailored more to theory work and memorising Kidō incantations, with an emphasis on Hollows and fighting them later on.

But raising Jigokuchō and learning Konsō were worth all of nothing before a Hollow, let alone a monstrous one like this. She couldn't be sure, being that they hadn't received more than a basic explanation, but something was screaming at her that this was no ordinary fallen soul.

There was a cry from the black-haired figure behind them, and blood flew through the air as he leapt away from a _second Hollow_, one that had come out of seemingly nowhere. This one was smaller than the other, but had a distinctly weird build for a Hollow- lacking any limbs, but having clusters of blades instead.

It gave her a foreboding feeling just to look at it.

"…Why? Why are we running away?"

Momo didn't know where the words came from, but she knew she was right as soon as they fell from her lips.

Kira-kun seemed a little hysteric by this point; "What do you mean 'why'? 'Cause we were told to run! You have to follow your leader's orders absolutely during training!"

"Don't even THINK about it," Abarai shot back, eyes wide, "You saw it! That thing killed two sixth-years in an instant! It doesn't matter how many of us there are, we're only first-years!"

She knew that, but…

They were wrong; they had to be. Surely there was _something_ she could do, she couldn't just sit back and let Hisagi-san die!

So she ignored their cries of protest when she leapt forward towards their injured comrade.

She didn't have the time to think before she leapt in front of the older teen to block one of the clusters of blade-like claws, and was relieved down to her core when the two other boys did likewise, having followed her.

But what now? What was she supposed to do now?! For a few moments she froze, completely overwhelmed by the simple fact of knowing there was no way she was strong enough to damage this creature.

But then, the practical lessons at the Academy came back to her, and the incantation of the 31st Hadō echoed in her ears.

Of course, she had Kidō! Maybe she could injure it!

She levelled her palm at the beast, supporting her wrist with her left hand as she chanted the invocation.

"_Ye Lord!_ _Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hadō #31, Shakkahō!"_

With a blast of crackling red energy, the Hollow's head was engulfed in an explosion, much to her teammates delight. Indeed, Momo herself couldn't help feeling a strong sense of satisfaction, although a strange nauseous feeling that rose within her all spontaneously undermined that.

What on earth…?

Hisagi's defeated comment drew her from confused introspection; "No… It's no good."

The very air around them seemed to come alive then, twisting and shimmering with an unnatural mirage, as the dimensional fabric was phased apart; revealing hordes and hordes of more unusual Hollows.

If she thought facing up to one or two of those especially grotesque Hollows was bad, to be surrounded by them like this…

She was going to die. It was obvious; there was no possible way any of them could fight their way out, or even get away.

The Hollows exuded a frightening aura, and the icy cold reiatsu that pounded over them felt as though it was trying to smash her through the roof, like the inconsequential ant she was to them.

She couldn't really comprehend what it was Kira was stammering over the seizing of her own mental functions, but his scream of terror dragged her back to reality.

There was a pain blooming in her head now, reaching from the base of her skull and stabbing straight through to her eyes, making her scalp prickle.

It wasn't normal; it felt wrong, wrong, _wrong._ What was happening to her? This wasn't a headache; it felt like something was hacking her mind apart from the inside out!

She tried to scream, tried to grab at her head, but her body was unresponsive, only staring blankly as a flash of silver arched overhead. Sweat poured from her body from the strain her mind was under.

What was happening to her? Now she was _really_ scared.

Her gaze met the glowing pits of the Hollow she'd attacked, as her body turned on autopilot- was she imagining the air of smug malice in the way it narrowed its eyes?

When she faced up to the new arrivals, their backup, the last people she expected to see was Captain Aizen and his Lieutenant, Ichimaru Gin.

There was a vague comprehension of the fact he was apparently comforting them -what was that soft weight on her head?- and her teammates relief, before the two moved to cut down their opponents.

But as the Lieutenant's sword reached that same unusual Hollow, time fragmented, blurring and warping around her.

A flash of silver, a bestial scream of defiance- cut short as the sword fell. A blur of something then -maybe light, maybe energy- as the creature disintegrated, flickering in the air briefly before flying straight at her.

She finally managed enough cognizance to jerk back, but it was no good; and none of the others seemed able to see the insubstantial flame as it converged on her.

And then pain, pain like Momo had never known, smashing through her body. It exploded through her chest and flooded to fill her limbs, completely taking over. She thought she could hear faint sounds of someone crying out in pain within the inky shadows around her, but she couldn't see the source of the voice.

Wait, what? Why was everything black? The pain still continued, but she was somehow distant from it now, standing in an empty void of darkness.

Where had everyone gone? Why was she alone? Where was the moon- where was the _ground_?!

She didn't know what was happening, but her heart was pounding painfully fast in her chest, and prickles of fear caused all of her hair to stand on end- it was only now she noticed she was devoid of clothes.

But that fact was soon forgotten, as she turned around and came face to face with a blazing inferno.

Black flames licked at the inky insubstantiality, reeking of that same destructive reiatsu as Hollows, but somehow they didn't frighten her as badly as they should have. Even when they cocooned around her, drawing her in, that wasn't what made her body seize in horror.

Within the raging tempest of darkness, there was a small patch of light, growing ever closer. It was soft and glowing mutedly, and before long, she was suspended in space before it, caged by walls of dark energy.

Somehow, in that moment, that beautiful swath of light -sometimes just a mess of energy, sometimes shifting to a decidedly more humanoid form- was the most terrifying thing Momo had ever seen.

It shouldn't be here- she didn't consciously know where she was, or what _it_ was, but somehow she _knew_ that this thing… this existence…

'No… no, please…'

The scratchy whisper seemed to be swallowed into the darkness, and Momo vaguely recognised the voice as her own, pleading through trembling lips.

The… essence before her became anthropoid in appearance once more, and she thought she might have seen eyes- watching her, staring into her soul.

She could make out facial features now- the line of a jaw, the rise of a cheekbone, the sweep of an eyebrow, the curve of lips.

And she could also see that they were twisted in pain.

It wasn't only her; whoever this mystery person was, they were suffering the same agonising, soul-rending wrench she was.

But that didn't change the fact that this was _her_ soul, _her _body; this intruder couldn't stay here.

'Sorry…'

She jerked in shock when warbled speech reached her from the foreign entity, fixing a wary look on the figure despite the shaking in her limbs.

'…But I refuse to die like this.'

The girl's eyes widened, and she only had time to scream as they were both engulfed in flames.

Gin grinned to himself as he retracted Shinsō for the last time, flicking from the blade what little blood dirtied it before the Hollows disintegrated.

Aizen had seemed content to just sit back and leave the disposal to him for the most part, which was fine with him. Although, he had made sure to check what Refundir's reiatsu felt like before killing the freaky thing.

His curiousity peaked in spite of himself to note that it felt like the Hollow had already activated its unique technique; that, and the Kidō scorching on its mask.

So, all that remained was to find out which of the students had been affected.

And wasn't he enjoying that- it seemed that Aizen had been wrong, in that some of the novices _had_ been recklessly stupid enough to interfere.

The Hollow Refundir: named such due to its unique ability to revise or rewrite a soul itself, to alter the very core of a person. The basis of its powers was the ability to gain a foothold into a soul's conscious mind, and completely overwrite it. And the best part about it was that it was painless and completely undetectable, except under the most complex, targeted Kidō; as it didn't modify the brain, but the spirit.

At its most unrefined, the process turned the receiver of the technique into a mindless doll- a living, vegetated, zombie.

However, that wasn't exactly what Aizen had wanted this time. He'd given the Hollows specific instructions to terrorise the students; but be certain to focus on Hisagi. However, the plan had been left entirely up to chance, in that they could only hope that no others had interfered before Refundir used the technique.

Because -while it was an incredibly powerful ability- it also had very limiting conditions.

Namely in that the first person whose reiatsu signature made contact with that of the Hollow, they would be the one to be targeted without exception. That, and the technique could only be used once every few years, meaning there was no purpose in keeping the Hollow around if it had filled its purpose.

"_As soon as possible after Refundir has activated the ability, that is the optimum time to step in; as the one it sticks to should imprint on me most strongly at that moment."_

That's what Aizen had told him before they left his laboratory in Soul Society, after giving a brief explanation on what he expected from this confrontation.

Being that Gin was now at Captain-class himself, it would only be a matter of time until he was promoted; but until then, Aizen felt the need to start grooming a puppet to take his place.

It wasn't enough that he would spring such a ruthless trap on a clutch of the Academy's next best and brightest, only two months into their education, in order to psychologically manipulate them into hero-worshiping him. No, he had to take an active part in literally brainwashing the unfortunate kid and rebuilding their mental scape the way he chose.

Even without any active influence on Aizen's part, the student affected would be hardwired internally to only be able to worship him. A few seconds was all it had taken, for that person to lose all true sense of self.

He might as well have killed them with his own hands.

Gin landed lightly behind his Captain, peering over at the group of traumatised youths curiously.

Hisagi-kun looked a little beaten up, but not too bad, all things considered; although that didn't mean anything, considering the rewrite was supposed to leave no damage.

There were two other boys, freshmen, who appeared scared but unharmed. The blond one appeared in far worse of a way than the punk, notably.

And then there was a girl, the only one in the group. She was also a first-year, and probably on a three man team with both boys, considering how the Academy worked.

She was standing rigid, with sweat pouring down her face; and despite the fact her companions had all relaxed on their arrival, she had not. Her eyes were wide and fixed blankly on a point far beyond them, and Gin took pause as he scrutinised her gaze.

The mind-numbing terror he could see there, flaring to life for a mere moment, had a chill going down his spine.

Her teammates jumped when she jerked violently, mouth opening as if to scream, but collapsed soundlessly before a sound could escape.

It was like watching a puppet have its strings cut, the way her knees collapsed beneath her and she dropped without resistance.

Gin hesitated for a moment, but merely nodded and moved to pick the girl up at Aizen's instruction, opening a Senkaimon and returning to Soul Society.

As he ran, a grin stretched over his lips.

Although he may have sounded concerned over her, Gin was sure that his Captain was furious that this girl had obviously interfered in the plan. And not only that, it appeared she _had_ been noticeably affected by the overwrite, which was sure to raise questions.

He would get over it though; the fact was that the technique had activated on _somebody_, after all. Even if it meant he was left to round up the scattered brats.

For Aizen, it was a better outcome than nothing, depending on who the girl was.

For Gin, it was just hilarious; that this girl had actually managed to disrupt his pace, no matter how insignificantly.

Laughter echoed in the Senkaimon as he followed his Jigokuchō back to Soul Society.

* * *

A/N: This fic is going to be a self-insert, OC type one, which means there will be quite a bit of first person writing from 'Momo's' point of view after this; but I tend to like taking a third person look at situations from other characters from time to time, so expect some of that too.

This chapter is written using Chapter -17 (Chapter 130.5 on Manga Fox) and Episode 46; but the field trip in the Living World is based off the manga for certain. I'll probably refer to things shown in the anime in later chapters, but I prefer that original scenario then the modified one. And it's more convenient for me :P

Oh, and the rating WILL be going up later, mucho later, but I'll change the fic rating when it reaches that point.

And don't worry, there will be more explanations on what happened to Momo just now, from the OC's point of view; and it's not going to be too airy-fairy and plothole-ish. There _is_ a bit of backstory there -not too important, but there just the same- _possibly_ to be revealed in snippets; unless people would like it told all at once?

I'll probably update again soon, because this and other story ideas have been bugging me for _weeks_ *sweatdrops*


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